Judge sets bail at $1,500 for Orange teacher in jail

An Orange County teacher who had been accused of threatening teachers, students and his ex-wife had his bail set Friday at $1,500.

The judge also ordered the condition that Jerrold Gabriel remain on home confinement with a GPS monitor, Orange County Jail spokesman Allen Moore said.

Gabriel's appearance in court Friday was his first since two encounters with law enforcement on Thursday.

Gabriel, 59, showed up at West Orange High School on Thursday morning, in violation of a domestic violence injunction. He hinted to people at the school that he had a gun.

Orange deputies, who did not know about the injunction, stopped Gabriel at gunpoint at Maguire Road and West Colonial Drive, but let him go. He later appeared at the sheriff's headquarters at West Colonial Drive and John Young Parkway, accusing the school's personnel of misconduct.

Deputies investigated Gabriel, found that he had violated the injunction by going to the school, and took him into custody.

Gabriel had earlier been arrested Oct. 10 on an assault charge after school officials said he threatened to shoot students. Prosecutors decided not to charge him in that case.

In an interview with the Orlando Sentinel after the Oct. 10 incident, Gabriel denied threatening anyone with harm. He said he received a mental-health evaluation and was diagnosed manic.

State officials are looking into whether he should be allowed to keep his teaching certificate, Gabriel's attorney Scott Richardson said.

Anika Myers Palm can be reached at apalm@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5022.